Kotsujiru Nabe & Dessert Station

Everytime when I passed by this open concept restaurant in Bugis Junction basement, the kaypoh side of me will stretch my kaypoh neck to see what the diners are eating. The food looked good.. Gyozas in soup. So one fine day, my friend and I decided to step in.

I love restaurants that use electronic ordering system. Super efficient and less errors. 

I don't like restaurants that charges for water. Tap water is drinkable. And Kotsujiru's water at $0.30 is non refillable. 

Kotsujiru Nabe's specialty is its mochi like gyoza. There are 4 different soups that you can choose from: Original, Miso, Miso Kimuchi, Tom Yam. I got the tom yam soup + pork ($20.80). The thinly sliced pork that were delicious and flavourful. The soup was really spicy and sour. My friend got the original soup with pork ($18.80).

The only thing that the gyoza is different from the usual Chinese soup dumpling is the Mochi-like skin. The skin is thicker and has a snowy texture that is chewy like mochi. Other than that, the meat is similar to those in Chinese dumplings.

The set comes with meat balls which we loved it to the max. Glazed with caramelized sweet soya sauce, they were really crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

Hmmm overall I find it quite expensive for the quality of food which I think is slightly above average. I think it's overpriced. 

Address: Bugis Junction B1-21/22

Telephone: 63380343

Dessert Station @ Albert Market

The feast continued with Part 2 which is dessert from our favourite dessert station in Albert Street Market Centre. They have a killer Cheng Tng which has a generous amount of longan, dates, sago, barley, ginkgo, white fungus and a lot of other ingredients in soup that is light and yet well balanced with sweetness.

My friend loves the sesame paste which was thick and awesome too. Desserts are around $1.30. Cheap and good :) We love Chinese desserts and I highly recommend this one at Albert Market!

Address: Albert Centre Market & Food Centre, 270 Queen Street, #01-41, Bugis

Chocolate origin

This is the Best. Chocolate. Ever.

Just like Rihanna singing “where have you been all my life??"...  that was what I felt about my virgin experience with Chocolate Origin’s chocolate lava ice-cream.

A plethora of “omg .. omg.. OMGG..” was unleashed when I first ate it. It was a touching moment for me.

At $5 a cup, the Cuppa Lava Cake, which is chocolate lava vanilla ice-cream is totally worth it for that moment of ecstasy.

And I missed it so much that I want to write a love letter now (warning: mushy content ahead).

Dear Cuppa Lava Cake,

I love you.

I love how intense and rich you are, and the bittersweet feelings that invoked within me when I devoured you.

I love how you are hot and cold at the same time.

I love how your warm chocolate lava gives me moments of bliss and indulgence, and how the moist fluffy soft sponge cake absorbs the flowing lava.

I love your cold and sweet vanilla ice-cream that is waiting for me at the bottom of the lava cake.

I love how serious you are as a chocolate, and yet seem like a dreamy fairy tale to me.

I love how therapeutic it is just to say your name.

I love you.

It was as if I have been sleeping for the longest time.

Until I met you.

This is an apt representation of my love for Cuppa Lava Cake.

Address:
230 Victoria Street, Bugis Junction, B3-10A (near escalator near Subway)
They have outlets at Changi Village, AMK Hub and 313 Somerset too!

Smoulder Softcore Bakers

I think Smoulder has the biggest variety of lava cakes I've ever seen. Apart from the standard chocolate lava cake, they have pistachio, Black Forest, milk chocolate banana, raspberry, matcha. *blink blink blink at the matcha!!* Full menu available at their website here.

The lava cakes are bite-sized versions so that one doesn't get sick from eating it.  Or is it Smoulder's strategy to let one feel less guilty eating more than one lava cake?

Baby Lava Cakes

These small sinful cakes are meant to be consumed at room temperature. I reheated them as I ate them the next day. Reheating instructions are available on the box or on their website too. I think I reheat for too long. My raspberry lava cake erupted in my toaster oven. Boo..

Dark Chocolate: 
The signature dark chocolate was amazing. One of the best chocolate lava cakes I've ever eaten. The warm molten chocolate oozed out of the soft moist spongy crust, and the rich and robust chocolate was like doing a dance in the mouth. Although it's name is dark chocolate, it's not bitter at all. 

At that moment, I regretted I only bought one. 4.75/5

White Chocolate Matcha:

Being seriously biased towards all things matcha, the white chocolate matcha was no doubt my most favorite. This is the first time I come across a matcha lava cake. The intense slight bitterness of the matcha was unmistakable and when matched with sweetness of the white chocolate, it was pure heaven! If there was ever a matcha volcano, I would gladly live in it. 5/5 (warning: Non matcha lovers should take note this rating could be biased.)

White Chocolate Raspberry:

A pity the raspberry cake "erupted" in my oven. There was still some molten raspberry in it though. The raspberry lava is strictly for the sweet and sour tooth. With raspberry fruity bits in the lava, one can't help but feel blissful devouring it. 4/5

Verdict: 
At $2.80 per piece, I find it ridiculously expensive for its small size. But if quality is what you are looking for, look no further. Smoulder has some of the best lava cakes I've ever eaten. They also take special orders for parties or baby showers too. Maybe it might be cheaper if buy in bulk.

Trivia: 
NYC 3 Star Michelin chef Jean Georges is the inventor of the molten chocolate cake in 1987, but French chef Jacques Torres disputed that the dessert already existed in France. Jacques Torres supposedly took out a cake which was not fully baked from his oven and found that the centre was runny. Regardless of who invented the lava cake, I am the biggest winner Mwahhahaha... So blessed to be born in this century to eat it!

Outlets:

Raffles City B1-68 

Takashimaya Basement Food Hall

Lady M Confections

There are some food that you can never forget. For me, Tim Ho Wan's Baked Char Siew Pau is one example. I am very fortunate that my list of unforgettable food has expanded to include Lady M's Green Tea Mille Crepe Cake ($8.50). Layers of buttery flaky crepes were coated with green tea mousse. The mousse was so soft and it sticks to the fork. Loved how it was not overly rich or sweet, and also not overly bitter. Combined with the flaky milky layers of crepe, this was a well balanced dessert.  How can it be? How can a dessert be so perfect leh?

Here are the different poses of my new found love. Yes I am perverted, so what?

The mysterious pose

The innocent pose

The come-and-devour-me pose

The 5/5 pose

Omg life will never be the same again! Green Tea Mille crepe, I love you!

It's other cousins were less memorable for me. They include the plain vanilla mille crepe which was average, buttery and had a caramelized top. Each layer tasted similar - too milky for my liking and soon I was tired of it. The banana mille feuille had a piece of small banana in the middle, which was engulfed by layers of fattening whipped cream which made me cringe.

Plain Vanilla Mille Crepe ($8) - 3.5/5

Banana Mille Feuille ($8.50) - 3/5

It was surprising to find that the outlet was pretty empty on a weekend. Are we not at One Fullerton? It's a bit weird because there were throngs of passer-bys and tourists outside.

Address:
1 Fullerton Road
#01-10
Singapore 049213

Desserts First 糖水先

The weather is so hot these days that sometimes I just want to chill in aircon places only. Another great way to hide from the heat is to eat a bowl of cold dessert. In the field of desserts, one of my favourite types would be the Hong Kong style desserts.. Now I am able to find a piece of Hong Kong in Singapore. That will be along Liang Seah Street which has the three big players in the Hong Kong dessert scene: Desserts First 糖水先, Ah Chew Desserts and Ji De Chi. I observed that Desserts First is usually the most crowded, especially after dinner time.

During peak hours (i.e. after dinner, lunch), sharing tables with strangers is a must if you are with friends in small groups. That's because the tables are mostly for big groups. I went during off-peak hours during a weekend afternoon and there was no crowd. Mandarin pop songs were played which made me felt like I was in Taiwan instantly.

The menu is on the table. After you decide what you want, proceed to order at the cashier.

If you are a durian lover like me, you must try the Durian Shaved Ice ($6, below). Either Durian Shaved Ice or the Durian Snow Ice. They used real D24 durians. Look at the top .. It's real durian fruit which was rich, sweet and pungent. Every bite delivered a robust and icy durian taste. Chomping on the shaved ice and the smooth and creamy durian - a great way to relief from the heat. However, be careful if you are eating with a Durian hater. He/She might squeal in disgust if he/she catches a whiff of that durian smell which I insist it is fragrant! 5/5

The Green Tea Snow Ice with Red Beans ($5, below) was also a winner. It carried a bit of bitterness with the "just nice" amount of sweetness. The accompanying red beans were sweet and complemented the green tea well. The "snow ice" were firm yet soft and melts in the mouth, making it a refreshing treat on a hot day. 4.5/5

The mango desserts are also their specialty. The Mango Snow Ice ($5.50, below) is my favourite! The mangoes were not overly sour but sweet. Layers of the "snow ice" were smooth and each of them were rich with the sweet and slightly sour mango taste. Mixed with the cubes of mango, it was heavenly! The accompanying nata de coco pieces were also very nice and addictive to chew on. 4.5/5

Waffle with Nutella and Bananas with Vanilla Ice-cream ($6.50, below) was perfectly done too. The waffle was crispy and the combination of nutella sauce and bananas was excellent. The vanilla ice-cream was sweet and creamy. Atop the hot waffle, it was a delicious treat. 4.5/5

Service speed was average and not fast, maybe due to the long preparation time needed to make the "snow ice". However, be patient and you will be rewarded :) A tip is to avoid dinner/lunch times as you would need to wait for some time for a seat. The portions are also very big and it's a good idea to share if you are a small-eater. Overall, we loved this place very much. This place is a must-try!

Address:
8 Liang Seah St #01-04, Bugis, 189029

Tel: 6333 0428

Opening Hours:
Mon to Thu: 1630 - 1230
Fri & Sat: 1300 - 0100
Sun: 1300 - 2330

Little Ice Cream Kafe (LICK)

Life is like ice-cream. Enjoy before it melts.

Ice-cream is one of my favourite foods. A pity it falls into "unhealthy" category if not I will eat it everyday. We found this Little Ice Cream Kafe, deliciously acronym-ed as "LICK" along Tanjong Katong Road, just a few shophouses after Ponggol Nasi Lemak.

Check out their website here for a list of the flavours they have! They have really interesting flavours e.g. D24 Durian, Earl Grey, Teh Tarik, Avocado, Gula Melaka, Kaya Toast and Lychee Martini. A single scoop costs $3.30, double scoop for $5.30 and triple scoop for $7.40.

I saw they do waffles too and I just had to get it. Waffles + Ice cream --> One of the most delicious things on earth!

We saw the staff having problem with the waffle machine and we got a little worried  #Fingers crossed. And they need to get more waffle machines! We waited for quite some time for our waffles. Luckily, there was free WIFI and TV to keep us occupied. 

Here's our waffle with Earl Grey and Lychee scoops ($10.10). Loved the fluffy and buttery waffles. And their scoops were of generous size! The Earl Grey ice-cream had the earl grey tea flavour and fragrance. The Lychee ice-cream was tropical and refreshing, had bits of real lychee and sweet. Strongly recommend the lychee ice-cream.

Here's the shop front.. Not sure if you are digesting the important information in the pic.. Yes LICK cafe has daily promotions on weekdays. It's quite a nice place to have desserts especially after dinner/supper at nearby Ponggol Nasi Lemak.

Address:
258 Tanjong Katong Road
Singapore 437046

Mon - Thu: 1:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Fri - Sat: 1:00 pm - 12:00 am
Sun: 1:00 pm - 11:00 pm